To have cried in asda

[Littlemissdan]

Is it just me that the whole cost of living thing is getting too much for? I actually had a (very small and no one watching!) cry in asda when I saw some reduced bakery goods because I didn’t know if I could afford them alongside my entire smartprice shop. £30 I had for a 2 week shop including nappies, and it just broke me that I actually had to wonder if I could afford a 55p treat for my kids. I can’t believe we’re living like this, 3 years ago we were comfortable and now I’m relying on the free school meals half term vouchers.
Not really looking for advice or budgeting advice here, just a bit of solidarity really :(

Go to Halfords, they offer 36 month Klarna for electric bikes Klarna is well harsh if you miss a repayment though

Isn't it absolutely outrageous that folk are so worried about the cost of utilities and food and no one appears to be listening.

OP you are not alone but it shouldn't happen at all in this day and age. If it was happening in another country we would be the first to tut tut about the way its people are being treated and look how cold and hungry they are. I live within my means but have noticed everything absolutely shoot up and it looks like it's not going to get any better any time soon. A first world country like UK governed by people who think this is OK? It absolutely is NOT.

On the other hand as long as the airports are full of people travelling abroad on ski trips and Easter/Summer breaks, doing house improvements, buying houses despite their cost, eating out regularly and filling the pubs, not much will change because in the eyes of those in similar circumstances everything looks fine.

I am so angry, I'd better stop my rant. Wishing you well OP, we are all with you, and there is a lot of good advice on this thread.

I'm just looking at the bt broadband thing. I may enquire more into that on Monday. However I'm still in contract with sky and can't afford to pay off my contract but I can't afford my bills anymore.

I'm so sorry that you are in this situation OP, and others facing similar. I'm fortunate that between the four working adults in this house at the moment we can absorb some of the increases.

But I remember being alone in my early 20s and having nothing in the bank, i'd even gone to the limit of my overdraft. I was told in my phone interview with the benefit assessor that i qualified for help and to bring my documents in, only to get there and be told I was not entitled to any help. The utter despair at that point was something I've never forgotten.
I hope things will improve for everyone.

@littlemissdan as a single mum this is my absolute biggest fear at the moment. I am exceptionally lucky that my fixed rate renewed before the worst of the crisis but the future terrifies me.

I am by no means on top money. But I do earn over the threshold for any help so I am not eligible for FSM or any benefits over child benefit.

My neighbour is disabled and unable to work. Her condition means she is hooked up to a machine 24/7/365 that keeps her alive. She also has to keep warm. She was telling me yesterday that her dd for gas & elec has gone up to £286 - that is over 50% of her ESA payment.

No one should be living in fear of how they are going to feed their kids or heat their house in 2022.

It is an absolute disgrace that the top energy firms are posting record profits and yet hiking the prices up so much. It is basically legal racketeering.

I have no advice whatsoever but I do sympathise.

I’m sorry. We are in the same boat. One of my children is disabled and I am his full time carer. I have four university degrees and had a good career. Now we’re choosing between heating and eating because of price rises. I wrote to my Tory MP (whom I have never voted for) and he doesn’t care. We don’t qualify for anything extra. I can’t cut back any more.

years ago we got caught up in the increase of mortgage interest from 10% to 15%
dm gave up umpteen cans of tuna from her store cupboard which she decided she no longer liked
it was a godsend - tuna & salad cream sandwiches for dh lunch tuna bolognaise (not as bad as it sounds basically onions tinned toms fried than drained tuna & herbs) tuna & peas pilau fish pie made with tuna & sweet corn & baked beans mixed in to bulk it out (or a boiled egg & peas & carrots) tuna fish cakes with potatoes
dh & I had a Friday favourite dhal & rice with a couple of fish fingers (or tuna fish cake) with a salad made of sliced onion with a dash of mint sauce
Grated carrot went into bolognaise or shepherd pie for 2 adults & 2 dc with a quarter of pound of mince or frozen veg
only fresh vegs that are best fresh are onions & potatoes
chilli con carne with baked beans (& lots of veg)
re rice - use long grain cheapest wash carefully than put rice for a few seconds in oil just to coat & than add water (taking it off heat first obviously)
potato egg & pea curry (with tinned toms) & rice (slice eggs so you only get half per person
cheap curry powder will still give a flavour
I hope one of these might help
Op other thing eggy fried bread which can be sweet with a little cake(mixed spice) & in fact pancakes are economical & fun for dc I have used a tin of fruit salad or you can use whatever jam (cheap ones are just as good) or if you have dried fruit mix it in before you make pancake - these can become treat. Toast with jam is treat for tea or just bread & jam

@Londoncallingme

Get an electric bike for work?

Do you know how much they cost?

@Mischance

It is a disgrace; more so because the person (and his spouse) making the financial decisions on our behalf has more money than I can even visualise. Sickening.

Yes, Unreal.

His spouse is wealthier than the Queen.

Completely out of touch.

Do you have children in school?
If so talk to them. Our school has been approached by a charity with the offer of £30 per child to any family we think might be in need over half term. Your school might have similar.

@Littlemissdan have you an Iceland near you, i find them good for stocking up on cheap freezer fillers.

I spent £155 in Asda last week. The last time I spent anything like that was during lockdown, when I was shopping for an entire two weeks, sweets, alcohol, big packets of UHT milk and it was in Sainsburys and my trolley was full. This was maybe 10 days shopping. And it was pretty basic. Things aren't sustainable.

think about this - if the prices have been hiked so much the government gets more tax

I hope you don't get all the 'well meaning' people on here telling you how you can cut back and budget because I know it's bloody hard and not necessarily possible. I frequently walk around the supermarket with my phone calculator out trying to work out what I can buy for the 3.57 on my account or whatever. That's depressing and worse when something is mislabelled and you don't have enough. I've faked a second job which means I do a 10 hour shift on my day off or even after my usual job. It's exhausting but instead of making me better off it's just absorbing the new costs and if I didn't have it then who knows...

Do you have a community fridge in your area? They are fantastic, no referral or anything needed.
A food bank is also an option, I promise its not as scary as people often think. No one will judge you.
We also have a community allotment in my area.

Sorry so many are going through this as well - not unreasonable to cry OP. You won't have been the first and definitely won't be the last.

I'm nearly 50 and live alone in a rented house. Thanks to covid, ill health and now the energy price hikes I've got to move back in with my elderly parents

I can't actually believe that my life has amounted to this, but the last couple of years have been hellish.

I can't see any other way forward. Even with a bit of help and cutting everything to the bone it just doesn't work. Just so relieved my DCs are grown up, I cannot imagine going through this awful uncertainty with young DCs and wish all of you all the very best

You know the electric bike comment may not be that mad IF you have a car to sell. Second hand car values are high at the moment. Of course, with a 2 year old, relying on a single bike for transport may not be that wise. Unless you get a cargobike.

Also try making dhal (you can make it just with small red lentils, its quicker on the hob). Its warm and filling and pretty cheap and you can freeze it.

Have a look at the Too Good To Go app

“Buy an electric bike - get it on Klarna” FFS 🤦🏻‍♀️

I remember being in my mid-20s and not having enough money. I would literally have £5 to buy food shopping for a week at the end of every month and would regularly lie awake in bed worrying about money.

Now I'm 40 life has circled around again and here I am, just the same. Except this time I have a house and child to worry about.

Thanks OP for this thread as I've seen some great suggestions. I've downloaded the Olio app and this week I'm going to try shopping in Iceland and Aldi. The nearest Aldi is 8 miles away, so I'm going to see if I can do my shop significantly more cheaply to justify driving over there.

Big hugs to OP and everyone else also finding it tough right now.

I'm just so sorry its got like this.

Part of me wishes BoJo would read this thread and have some realisation of the harm hes caused

The other part of me thinks its giving him to much credit to think he'd even care

It’s grim. Two years ago, I was excitedly looking at new kitchens. Gradually, over the two years I have cut back more and more until I’m doing £20 weekly Aldi shops and wondering about selling the car. A new kitchen seems laughable now. I can’t even imagine it.

I put my shop in an online basket and use that as my list. It at least saves me the maths, and I can adjust if something is out of stock.

Friday we visited my mother, and her house was SO WARM (she really feels the cold and has solar panels, so isn’t as bothered by energy prices as we are) I could have stayed there forever. It was just so blissful to be warm, not huddled in a blanket.

OP, would your employer let you work from home?

This may seem silly and I’d never recommend it in normal circumstances but have you checked if you’d be better off not working?

@mumwon

think about this - if the prices have been hiked so much the government gets more tax

Absolutely. The higher the fuel prices, the more tax the government gets. They’re hardly going to be in a rush to drop them.

@BritishDesiGirl It’s the government that has created this situation. It’s what they want.